After the seven days in the bridal chamber, the bride and bridegroom would join their guests (‘children of the bridechamber’) for a joyous marriage feast. The first meal that the bride and bridegroom shared with their guests was a festive meal that had religious significance. The purpose of the meal was to instill joy in the hearts of the bride and bridegroom. The origin of this meal appears to go back to Jacob’s father-in-law Laban who invited all the local people to a party after Jacob and Leah’s wedding (Genesis 29:22). The playing of music at the feast was considered a religious duty. Flutes were traditionally played for them and the guests joined in the celebration by dancing before the bride.
Revelation 19:6-9 tells us that there will there be a marriage supper for the bride of Christ. It reads, “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound
of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And it was granted to her to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb”!’ And he said to me,’These are the true sayings of God’.”
The bride of Christ reigned with Him in the millennium. He came and tabernacled with her. His marriage was with both old Jerusalem and New Jerusalem. The first marriage covenant was not dissolved by divorce. It was terminated by the death of the husband (cf. Romans 7:1-6). Jerusalem and her lovers (Rome) murdered Jesus Christ and refused to acknowledge her widowhood (Rev. 18:7b). Jesus’ union with earthly Jerusalem was “nailed to the cross” (Col. 2:14). His death freed the Jews and Jerusalem to remarry. But, after His resurrection and ascension, Jesus returned and lawfully executed Jerusalem for her abominations. Both died within the space of forty years. Yet, both covenants co-existed for that same forty-year period that separated the death of Jesus from the death of Jerusalem. The Hebrew writer explains that in speaking of the new covenant, he hath made the first old. But, what is becoming old and waxes aged is near unto vanishing away.” If it had vanished away, the writer would not speak of it as being near to vanishing. There remained one more thing that had to be removed before the marriage of the bride and Lamb could take place. That thing was the temple. It had to be destroyed before the temple in heaven could be opened (Heb. 9:8-9). The fact that it was still standing in the day of this writing meant that the present age was still active. Immediately after the burning of Jerusalem, the marriage of the Lamb could take place with his bride (Rev. 19:7, cf. Rev. 11:8, 13, 18). Christ had promised to return in order to gather the elect “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (Matt. 24:29-34). When Jesus returned, his first agenda was to destroy earthly Jerusalem as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Then, He would gather the elect together to reign as priests unto God for a thousand years (the first resurrection.).